I. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to an apparatus for limiting the wiping angle of a windshield wiper unit.
II. Prior Art
A wiper unit for an automobile has a wiper spindle drivable to move to-and-fro and bearing a part-pinion of a gearing. The part-pinion is unrotatingly secured on the wiper spindle, so that any driving of the part-pinion always causes the wiper spindle to rotate in the same sense of rotation as the part-pinion. In modem automotive vehicles the wiping angle is in the order of 180 degrees, because the wiper spindle inverts its sense of rotation each time after rotating through approximately 180 degrees or after rotating through any other selected wiping angle. The part-pinion is driven in the prior art manner by another part-pinion of a gearing which is drivingly coupled in prior art manner to an electric miniature motor. With the aid of a state-of-the-art crank mechanism, the inversion of the wiper spindle is brought about any time after having performed a rotational motion corresponding to the wiping angle. The inversion should, however, take place as smoothly as possible, that is to say, without any remarkable jerk, because this does not only lead to annoying noises but in the long run also to detrimental influences on the driving mechanism as a whole.